


Missing in Action

by whumpqueen (Super_Secret_Slash_Agent)



Series: Valor [2]
Category: Flashpoint (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 05:59:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6411682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Secret_Slash_Agent/pseuds/whumpqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to my story Valor. Sam's story of what happened after he left the SRU and how he found his way back. BAMF!Sam. part of my "valor verse" series. Spoilers for Behind the Blue Line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sam knew he had to leave. He didn't care that he was still covered in the blood of Darren Kovacs. He knew if he didn't leave now the team would convince him to stay. As much as he loved them, Sam knew that if he stayed with them, he would break. He needed to go where he knew what he needed to do, where he just had to follow orders and not worry about talking someone down. He needed the Army.

Sam had snuck out of the barn with no one the wiser. He had turned on one of the showers before sneaking out to buy some time.

He drove quickly and arrived at his apartment. After a quick shower to clean off the blood he reached into the closet and grabbed the two standard military issue bags that he always had packed and ready to go.

Sam threw the bags in his car and drove.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Ed walked into the locker room and his eyes grew sad as he saw Sam's empty locker. He turned to Spike and Wordy who were staring at the locker, "He still here?" Ed asked hopefully. If they could talk to Sam, maybe they could convince him to stay.

Spike nodded and Wordy said, "Shower." Ed grimaced, remembering that Sam was covered in the blood of his fellow former serviceman.

Ed walked over to the showers and stopped just outside the one that was running. "Sam, buddy, we are here for you ok. I understand this was a hard call for you but you can't just leave. We need you here, you are family. So please stay, or at least consider it. We can help you, I have this group I go to, cops and military guys, and we help each other through the tough stuff. Just come with me once." Ed paused, listening for a reply. He was surprised he didn't hear anything, not even a denial at needing help.

"Sam?" Ed called. "You still there Sam?" Ed heard no reply and stuck his head in the shower, it was empty. "Damn it Sam!" Ed called as he shut off the water. He slowly walked back into the locker room and sat down.

Spike gave him a curious look and asked, "What's wrong Ed? He throw you out?"

Ed sighed, placing his head in his hands, "He's gone."

Wordy spun around to face Ed and almost yelled, "What?! We have to find him!" Ed nodded in agreement before standing. "I'll grab Jules, you get Greg and tell Leah what's going on." Wordy continued as he was on his way out the door. He ran into Jules almost immediately.

"Hey Wordy, is Sam in there? I want to talk to him, get him to stay." Jules said after she recovered from Wordy almost knocking her over.

"He's gone Jules. He left and we didn't even know it. That man must be a ninja because he had to of walked past me and Spike to leave. But we need to find him before he does anything rash." Wordy rambled. Jules eyes widened when Wordy said that Sam had left.

Without thinking Jules ran to her jeep. She heard Ed telling Greg and Leah what happened as she ran past. She climbed in her Jeep and pulled out, knowing the others wouldn't be far behind her. She drove a fast as she could to Sam's apartment, hoping that he was still there when she got there.

Jules jumped out of her jeep as soon as she had it parked. She distantly heard two other cars pull up as she rushed in the building. She took the stairs two at a time and soon reached the right floor. She grabbed the key he had given her awhile back in case of emergencies and Jules was positive that this was an emergency.

She searched the apartment and Sam was nowhere to be found. She stood in front of the closet knowing that if she looked and what she was looking for wasn't there then Sam was gone. She heard the front door open and knew it was the rest of the team. She took a deep breath and opened the door. A sob escaped he lips when she saw the two bags were gone. She sunk to the floor and distantly heard someone asking what was wrong.

"He's gone, really gone." She looked up into Greg's eyes and whispered, "He went back."

Everyone heard Jules whispered declaration and they knew immediately what she meant. Sam had left to return to the Army.

Spike closed his eyes and sat on the bed. He slumped forward and placed his head in his hands. "God Sam, what are you thinking? You are going to get yourself killed out there. I can't lose another friend Sam, I can't." Spike whispered.

Leah placed a comforting hand on Spike's shoulder and looked around the room. The team all looked devastated. She hadn't known Sam for very long but she knew he was a good man and he was like family to the rest of them. Leah knew that with Sam gone she would have to hold this team together if anything happened. She had to keep them together, only if because one day Sam might return and complete the family again.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam straightened his clothes as he entered his father's study. The General looked up as he entered and looked pleased. "I'm glad to see you have come to your senses." He said rising from his chair.

"Yes Sir. If I may make a request Sir?" Sam paused and waited for his father to nod. "I would like to be placed in a different unit, one where I can't be found. I don't want the SRU team knowing where I am. It could interfere with my state of mind Sir."

General Braddock smiled, "Don't worry. I have an opening on a team for a sniper and you may just be the man for the job. If you are with them, you won't have to worry about your old team finding you. If you join them, you will no longer exist."


	2. Chapter 2

Sam stepped out of the plane into the scorching desert sun. He had almost forgotten how hot it was at noon in the desert. A jeep drove up, a cloud of dust rising behind it. The jeep stopped and a man jumped out. He had a scar on the right side of his face that disappeared into his dark brown hair. Sam quickly studied the man and could tell he was an experienced soldier by the way he carried himself. The man also held an air of authority, which caused Sam to think he was facing his new commanding officer.

"Braddock, I'm your new CO. I'm Colonel James Rutherford but we don't use official rank in the field so you can call me Ratchet. The guys think it's easier than Rutherford." Ratchet said with a smile. He held out his hand and Sam shook it before they both climbed into the jeep.

"Now, I heard you are a long distance marksman, is that right?" Ratchet questioned as he drove.

"That's correct. Spent my earlier tours as a sniper with JTF-2." Sam replied

Ratchet smiled, "We got a couple guys who went through there, good soldiers. I think you will fit right in Braddock. Last sniper we had couldn't take the pressure, almost shot me in the foot once. That better not happen with you or I will send you back so fast your head will spin."

Sam smiled, "Don't worry, I'm used to pressure."

Ratchet glanced over at Sam and said, "That's right, your file said you've been SRU on the police force since your last tour. What happened there?"

Sam frowned, "Not something I want to talk about Sir."

Ratchet nodded, "We all got our secrets kid. Now, none of this Sir, its Ratchet, got it."

Sam smiled, he had missed the camaraderie combat brings and he knew if the rest of the guys were anything like Ratchet, they would be brothers in no time. He was beginning to think that he had made the right choice leaving the SRU.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Several hours later the jeep pulled up to a small camp. Sam could hear music coming from one of the tents. Ratchet smiled and said, "Let's introduce you to the guys." Ratchet Honked twice and Sam watched as ten guys made their way through the tents and stood in front of the jeep. Ratchet climbed out and Sam followed suit.

"Alright guys this is Sam Braddock. Braddock this is Bear, Lefty, Rocky, Doc, Red, Specs, Cross, Falcon, Shift and Jet." Ratchet said pointing to each man in turn.

"So, is that Braddock like General "Bad Ass" Braddock?" Red called out. Sam nodded and Red continued. "Dude! You're like Mini Bad Ass Braddock."

Everyone groaned as Sam laughed. The big guy at the end who Sam remembered being called Bear said, "Come on Red, and give the kid a chance for his own nickname. What did they call you in your last unit, Braddock?"

Sam grimaced, "Blondie." The guys laughed as they could tell Sam obviously didn't prefer the name.

"Well we will come up with better than that, give us a week." Shift chuckled. "How about you settle in then we see what you got kid."

Sam smiled "Sounds like a plan."

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam had his stuff set up in record time and went to find the guys. He walked up and since he was curious asked, "So how'd you guys get the nicknames?"

Cross smiled and answered, "Well Bear is kind of obvious, big guy you know. Red, cause of the hair, Rocky has the meanest right cross you've ever seen, Shift is our wheelman, Falcon is our eyes in the sky, Lefty and Doc are self-explanatory, Specs is our bomb tech and pulls out these ridiculous glasses whenever he's disarming a bomb, Jet as in Jet Li cause that guy is like a ninja and me, well I always wear this cross around my neck so the name kind of stuck."

Sam nodded as he listened to the explanation. "Well I guess my old nickname is self-explanatory." Sam said with a laugh.

"Seriously, Blondie is the best you got? That's lame man." Lefty commented.

"I did do some police work for a while, one of those guys had something better but I don't think it counts as a nickname." Sam said, wondering if he should tell these guys about his old team.

"What was it?" Jet asked.

Sam's smile faltered as he answered, "Samtastic."

"Not bad, I kind of like it but I think we can do better." Rocky said definitively, subtly letting the others know the name wasn't an option. Rocky was a very observant person and he had seen the look on Sam's face when he mentioned the name. "So why don't you show us what you got Braddock?"

Sam smiled, "Call me Sam and we got a deal." Rocky laughed and nodded.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam ducked as Rocky swung at his head. The guys thought it would be fun to watch Sam go against their best guy first but they didn't take in to account that Sam knew what he was doing. He was the youngest guy there, being in his early 30's, and he understood how they thought he was less experienced and he used it to his advantage. Sam ducked again and made sure to pay attention to how the man fought. Sam smiled slightly as he heard the others laugh and yell for him to throw a punch. Sam knew that if he judged his opponent correctly he could take him out with a single punch.

Rocky swung again and Sam darted into the small opening and struck Rocky's chest full force. Rocky went down with a thump and the others quieted. The camp was completely silent as Sam looked down on his winded opponent. He smiled and extended a hand to help the older man up.

"Damn, kid. That was some punch, knocked me flat on my ass." Rocky said as he rubbed his sore chest. He grabbed Sam's hand and stood up. Both men turned towards the on looking group and smiled. Rocky threw an arm around Sam's shoulders and said, "I like you kid."

Sam smiled then the rest of the unit seemed to come out of their shock.

"DUDE!" Red shouted.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Lefty asked, genuinely curious.

"You got to show me how to do that." Specs pleaded.

"That looked like it hurt." Doc commented with a grimace.

"Nice one kid" Bear said as he patted Sam's back.

Jet smiled and said, "Looks like I might have an actual opponent for sparring for once."

Falcon and Cross exchanged looks before congratulating Sam.

"We underestimated you kid. Seriously though where did you learn that?" Shift questioned.

Before Sam could reply Ratchet spoke up, "Oh sorry, did I not tell you guys he did several tours with JTF-2? My bad." Sam smiled, he could tell his CO had done that on purpose so the unit didn't know what to expect from him and he could establish himself in his own right.

"Nice, Jet, Falcon and Doc all did a few tours with one of their units." Red whistled in appreciation. "So what's your specialty?"

"I'm a sniper." Sam replied.

"You any good?" Lefty asked.

"I'm not bad." Sam said with a smile. "Give me a target and I can give a demo if you like."

"Somebody get the kid something to shoot." Rocky said, his arm still on Sam's shoulder.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam looked through the scope and breathed deeply. He saw the can of diet coke sitting on top of the jeep 900 meters away. He had managed to convince Shift to drive it as far as he could away from the camp. Sam took another breath and made the shot. He watched through the scope for a minute as Shift grabbed the can and started to drive back.

Several minutes later Shift drove up. Without a word he threw the can into the middle of the group of people. The can rolled on its side and everyone saw the bullet hole dead center in the "O".

There was a call of "Nice shot" and a few "Our last guy wouldn't have even hit the jeep, no idea how he managed to get in this unit." Sam smiled glad that his new unit accepted him.

It had grown dark and everyone was turning in for the night when Jet approached Sam. "You have some serious skill with hand-to-hand. How would you like to learn a little more?"

Sam's smile grew, "Sounds great man can't wait to see what you have to offer."

Jet glanced at his watch, "Tomorrow, 0700 hours meet me over by where you fought with Rocky and I'll teach you how to fight for real." With that Jet walked off, leaving Sam to settle in for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had disappeared a week ago. Team one was a man short but they didn't want to fill the position incase Sam returned. Leah was beginning to become a strong member of the team. She had to make sure the team kept going and didn't fall apart searching for someone who didn't want to be found. Leah kept the team on track and focused on the job.

Leah walked into the barn and immediately heard Jules arguing with Spike.

"What do you mean it's gone Spike? It can't be gone! It can't just disappear." Jules yelled in frustration.

"Look Jules," Spike replied, "I know he worked here, you know he worked here but for the computer he never has. It's like he doesn't exist anymore. His name was completely wiped from our system. I even checked some old transcripts of hot calls and it just says SRU officer."

Leah sighed as she realized what the fight was about.

"Seriously Jules, whoever did it has serious skill. There is absolutely no trace of them in the system whatsoever." Spike said his voice quieting down.

Leah rounded the corner to see Spike sitting at a computer and Jules standing behind him with a white knuckle grip on the back of the chair. She decided to stand back for a while and see how things played out; she was hoping they would realize that Sam wasn't coming back until he was ready to.

Leah saw Ed approach the two and hoped he would put an end to the argument. She was disappointed when she heard Ed say, "Spike what did you find?"

Spike dropped his head to the table. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. I found nothing on nothing because apparently Samuel Braddock never existed!" His voice rose as he raised his head before slamming it down again.

"Did you check military databases?" Ed asked hoping for better news.

"No Ed, why didn't I think of that?" Spike's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Oh wait, I did. Nothing. I checked and he doesn't even have a birth certificate." Leah raised her eyebrow, curious despite herself.

"How is that possible?" Ed asked, setting down his coffee cup and leaning down to see the screen.

Spike sighed and let his fingers fly over the keyboard. He began retracing his steps through every military database he could. Suddenly the computer froze and a warning popped up on the screen. Spike jumped out of the chair causing it to almost knock over Jules. Spike turned away from the computer and bit his lip. Jules and Ed were wondering what was going on when Spike finally spoke.

Spike pointed a shaking finger at the screen, "That, is not good. In fact, that should not even exist. I thought it was just like a hacker's urban legend or something. God, whatever Sam is into, wherever he is, it doesn't matter because there is no way in hell we are ever finding out anything."

Jules voice seemed tiny as she asked, "What is it Spike?"

Spike turned to her then cast a glance over at Ed. "That, Jules is like the master of keep out signs. Like seriously, this thing is like a black hole surrounded by access denied meets the most advanced security system on the planet. If I even attempt to make another keystroke to get past it, it could erase every computer in this building. It could even erase ones not connected to the network. It shouldn't be possible but there is no way I'm testing that theory."

Leah silently wondered where Sam could have gone that would cause something like this to happen. She knew he had been Special Forces before but this seemed like overkill for them. Although she wouldn't be surprised if a couple guys in uniform suddenly showed up and confiscated the computer after having a very unconvincing talk with everyone about how Samuel Braddock does not exist and Team one should not go digging in matters of national security.

A sigh escaped Leah's lips as she watched Wordy walk up and join the argument. She realized she would have to step in and end this.

"Guys," Leah started hesitantly. They ignored her and continued arguing. Leah ran a hand over her face before repeating herself louder. "Guys!" All heads turned to her.

"Look I understand you guys miss Sam and don't want to give up looking for him or hope that he will come back but arguing isn't helping anyone. It's been a week and if Sam hasn't returned by now or contacted any of you then he probably won't. You need to get your heads on straight and focus on your jobs because if something happens out there because one of you is too preoccupied with searching for someone who clearly doesn't want to be found then I'm not going to stand idly by." Leah said firmly.

Jules turned on her with a snarl, "What do you know? You barely know Sam, what gives you the right to tell us to just give up on him?"

Leah's glared back at Jules and said, "I may not know Sam like the rest of you do but if I know one thing about him, it's that he wouldn't want this team to fall apart. He loves you guys like family and has always put you before himself in the field. I'm not asking you to give up on him, I'm asking you to still be a team when he comes back."

Team one looked shocked at the speech Leah had just delivered. It was dead silent for a moment, and then Greg spoke from behind Leah. "She has a point. If we keep going like this, Team one will fall apart. If Sam doesn't want to be found then we should respect that and wait for him to come back to us. We all know he will when the time is right. The question is, will we be here for him when he does?"

Greg looked over his team for a moment before laying a hand on Leah's shoulder, "Thank you Leah. I can't imagine how hard that must have been. It's not easy to stand up to your friends, especially on something like this."

Leah nodded and watched as the members of Team one all silently thanked her. Suddenly Winnie announced a hot call and everyone rushed to gear up. Leah smiled knowing that she wouldn't have to watch her own back and that Team one was on its way back


	4. Chapter 4

It was 0630. Sam knew he was early but he had a hard time sleeping as he hadn't grown used to the time difference yet. So he sat and waited for Jet to show up so he could start learning from these men.

Sam thought back to the day before and his first impressions of his new unit. These guys were a family, they were brothers. Most seemed to have the protective older brother thing down pat but Red, something about the guy reminded him of… no he couldn't think of him. If he looked back now it would only make his time here harder. Sam pushed thoughts of Team one and Spike from his mind before he had the time to really think about them.

Sam heard movement behind him and guessed Jet was testing him. He smiled slightly as he waited for Jet to try something. He raised his watch and angled it slightly to catch the reflection of the person behind him. His smile widened when he saw it was Jet. Suddenly a hand was on his shoulder and with a well-practiced maneuver he grabbed the hand and flipped the other man.

Then, Sam wasn't sure quite how but it ended up being him on the ground. Jet smiled and extended his hand. Sam took it and stood, dusting himself off. "Nice reflexes Braddock, but you could use some work on your technique." Jet commented.

"Show me how to fix it and next time it won't be me on the ground." Sam smiled. Jet laughed then went over a few things he could have done better.

Sam spent the next several hours training with Jet. By the end both were bruised and sore. Jet complemented him on how quickly he picked things up and Sam laughed saying, "No I'm just too stubborn to get it wrong more than once." Jet laughed with him as they joined the rest of the guys for an afternoon briefing.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam wouldn't admit it but he was slightly nervous to be going on his first mission with these guys. The earlier briefing had been to outline the plan for the night mission they had just been cleared for. Sam was to scout the area and provide cover fire for the rest of the guys. It was a simple mission but he hadn't done much night shooting since he left JTF-2.

Sam heard the call to move out and grabbed his rifle before jumping in his assigned Humvee. Shift, Lefty and Red where in the Humvee with him. Red smiled at him from the navigator's chair. "First op with the new guy!" he called out cheerfully.

Lefty patted his shoulder and shot him a sympathetic look. Sam knew this was a part of joining a new team, he also knew the ribbing was harmless and would stop as soon as these guys got to know him. That's just how it was on a team, heck even Team one had sent him on coffee runs until he proved he was willing to try negotiation and not be just a point and shoot guy anymore. Sam blinked the thoughts away and mentally berated himself for think of that. He couldn't afford that kind of distraction on an op, especially not his first with this unit. They were counting on him to watch their backs after having known him for a day and a half and he couldn't let them down.

The Humvee stopped as they approached Sam's vantage point and he climbed out and quickly set up his gear. He watched as the Humvee drove off towards the target then quickly checked the wind speed and other variables.

After some quick mental math, Sam was lined up and listening to the coms for the go sign. As soon as it came Sam sent to shots into the compound both shattering windows at opposite sides of the building.

In the ensuing chaos the rest of the unit went to work. Sam watched quietly and waited. He took out one man as he was coming up behind Rocky and saw Rocky nod in his direction in a quick thanks. Sam spent the rest of the mission doing the same for several other members of the unit.

Pretty soon the mission had been completed and Sam waited for the Humvee to return for him. As he saw it approach he almost missed the enemy vehicle that was trailing behind it. Sam turned his rifle on the moving target and sent a single shot into the engine block. Sam lowered his gun and watched as the jeep burst into flames, lighting up the small patch of desert around it.

The Humvee rolled by and Sam jumped in, not waiting for it to stop. Lefty grabbed his shoulder and helped him right himself before patting him on the back and saying, "Nice shooting, seems we got ourselves a crack shot boys." Sam listened as everyone joked and laughed over the coms about his shooting prowess.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

They finally arrived back at their base of operations, ready to turn in before it got to hot and bright to fall asleep. As they headed back to their tents, Rocky approached Sam.

"Listen kid, you had my back out there tonight and I want you to know that from now on I have yours. No matter what and no matter where. Your shooting saved my life tonight and I plan on returning the favor." Rocky said his face dead serious.

Sam looked the older man in the eye. "You don't owe me a thing Rock. Having your back is not just my job, and it's not because I want you to owe me anything. I have your back because even though I hardly know you guys, we are a unit and we need to stick together no matter what. I have your backs and I know when it comes down to it, you guys will have mine because a unit is like family and no one wants to lose someone."

Rocky smiled, "Kid, anyone ever tell you that you're smarter than you look?"

Sam made a face and gave a sarcastic, "Gee, thanks for the compliment." Rocky laughed and wished Sam a good night before heading to his cot. Sam smiled knowing that these guys were already his family.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam had been a part of the unit for a month now. He was growing closer with the guys every day, especially Rocky, Jet and Shift. But the guy he was growing closest to was Red. The guy was a riot and a half, he was always pulling pranks or pulling some crazy stunt like the time he tried to go sand surfing with a stray board of wood he had found and a rope tied to the back of the jeep. He ended up having to get a couple stitches and a lecture from Doc.

Sam had just finished his morning session with Jet when he caught sight of Red hiding behind a pile of boxes they had received the day before filled with whatever food and ammo they needed to replenish their stock.

Sam snuck up behind Red and tapped him on the shoulder causing him to jump and say, "Holy crap, Ghillie, your becoming more ninja than our resident ninja."

"Doesn't fit Red, maybe next time." Specs said popping his head over the box.

"Damn, I thought that one would work." Red said with a mock pout. Then he realized that it was Specs that spoke and he yelled, "Double damn. Braddock you gave my position away to the enemy!"

Sam turned to look at Specs and raised an eyebrow, "What'd he do this time?"

Specs sighed, "Don't ask me how he did it, but my undershirts now have pink blotches on them."

Sam's eyebrow went higher as he turned back to Red who placed a finger to his lips and whispered, "A prankster never reveals his secrets."

Sam laughed and said, "I thought that was magicians?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about; I don't know any magic tricks." Red scoffed. Sam laughed and watched as Specs managed to grab Red and drag him off, most likely to fix his shirts.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

"Seriously, that's the best he could come up with?" Falcon questioned as he sat next to Sam cleaning his gun. Red walked in and Falcon continued, "Red come on, if you insist on trying out a new nickname for Sam everyday can you at least come up with some better ones?"

Bear, who was sitting several feet away, tucking some loose belongings in his footlocker, chimed in. "I'm with Falcon on this Red. I know you can do better than Ghillie."

Red shrugged and explained, "What? He wore one on the last op and I have to get my inspiration from somewhere. Seriously, good nicknames don't just fall out of the sky."

Sam laughed as he listened to the three men argue on the merits and making of a nickname. As the banter continued Doc came and pulled Sam away for a post-op physical.

The check-up was over in no time and as Sam was turning to head back Doc stopped him. "Sam, I know you got some basic medical training but I was wondering if you would be up for some more. It will mostly be self-treatment as most of the time you are separated from the rest of us. I don't want a member of this unit to go down if I can help it, and I won't always be able to get to you in a timely manner if you need medical attention."

"Hey Doc slow down," Sam said raising his hands as if in surrender. "You had me at self-treatment. It's a good idea and I'm sure if you hadn't suggested it, sooner or later I would turn up asking for it."

Doc smiled and sighed inaudibly, "Well that was easy, and here I thought I would have to do some major convincing. You know, I heard somewhere that you're smarter than you look." Doc smirked as he said the last part knowing he was quoting Rocky after their first mission.

Sam chuckled, "How original. So when do you want to do this thing?"

"Now good?" Doc asked.

"Now is perfect." Sam replied.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam felt like his brain was going to explode with everything Doc had showed him in the past two hours. Sam picked up an MRE and groaned. "This is one thing I definitely didn't miss after I left JTF-2"

Cross overheard him and said, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave at all? The military seems to be your whole life, it must have taken something big for a guy like you to leave."

Sam sighed; he knew the question would come eventually. "You know last time I told that story, it ended with me getting on a plane and heading here."

That got the attention of the rest of the guys. They knew that Sam was devoted to whatever unit or team he was on and anything that could get him to leave two different ones must have been big. Everyone was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Sam would volunteer the information.

Ratchet watched Sam, wondering if he would tell the rest of the unit. Being the CO, Ratchet had known the story even before he met Sam but he wondered how it would look from the sniper's perspective.

Sam took a deep breath and decided it was better to get the story out now instead of waiting and ruining his friendship with these men. "I had this friend in JTF-2, Matt. He was my best friend, we were brothers in all but blood and not just because we served together. Matt and I would have been the same even as civilians, the Army just made the bond that much stronger."

The others nodded, all knowing how it was to have a friend like that serving with you. "One day I got sent on an op with just a spotter and given a target. They cleared me to fire and I killed everyone in the target area. We went down to verify the targets and whe we got down there…" Sam stopped, unsure if he could continue.

"One of them was Matt wasn't it?" Rocky asked and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam nodded and looked down in shame.

"He wasn't supposed to be there. " Sam said breaking the silence. "I still have no idea why he was. But after that, the guys didn't trust me so I left, joined the SRU. Ii was a good change. I got to save lives instead of taking them. I loved it."

"What happened?" Red asked softly.

"Darren Kovacs. He was Army. His friends were all killed, he was denied another tour for psychological reasons and when he finally made it back he found out they were tearing down the one place where things made sense, the Godwin Coliseum. He booby-trapped the place and my team got called to deal with it." Sam ran a hand over his face as he remembered the incident.

"I was lead negotiator. I got him talking, showed him I understood. I told him about Matt. I thought I got through to him. He said he wanted to meet on center ice and he would turn himself in. I wanted to believe him so badly, wanted to believe I had saved him. I was wrong; he ended up holding one of my teammates at gunpoint. I tried to talk him down but he turned the gun on me and they killed him. We went over the transcripts later and you know what we figured out? He wanted to die; he wanted me to kill him." Sam paused, trying to blink away the tears in his eyes.

Sam lowered his head into his hands and whispered. "I should have been able to save him. I saved so many strangers when I was with the SRU, people that I never gave a second thought. But the one person I wanted to save, the one person I needed to… I just couldn't. Not only did I fail Darren, I failed my team. I got emotionally involved and put them at risk. Because of me one of them almost died and another was forced to kill."

Sam stood suddenly and violently threw the MRE he had been holding and shouted, "All because I killed my own goddamned best friend." Sam sunk down to the ground and tried in vain to hold back the tears as he placed his head back in his hands.

Everyone sat in shocked silence. The story hadn't shocked them, it was Sam's outburst that had. They had never seen Sam even get irritated before, not even when Red was up to his usual tricks. Granted, they hadn't known him for very long but anyone who could keep cool and laugh when someone covered their rifle case in goo that still hadn't been identified was not the type of person prone to emotional outbursts.

Rocky kneeled down next to Sam. In the short time they had known each other Rocky had seemed to almost adopt the younger man as a little brother. "Hey kid, none of that was your fault. The blame lies with the man who cleared you to shoot, the guy who sent your friend into that area and with Darren Kovacs. You got it kid? You did nothing wrong and none of us think you did. We know what it's like when you have to follow orders and things go sideways."

Sam wiped his eyes and replied, "Yeah I know that, most of the time, but talking about it just kind of brings it all home and my common sense takes a vacation."

"Where does it go on vacation? I bet it goes someplace nice like Fiji." Everyone turned to stare at Red open mouthed at his ridiculous comment, and then Sam burst out laughing with the rest of the guys joining in.


	6. Chapter 6

Spike sat, staring at the empty locker. It had been empty for two months now and Spike was beginning to wonder if it would stay that way.

Spike had realized a month ago that the only way he would hear anything about Sam was if something bad happened, so every morning he checked any article he could find that mentioned soldiers. Spike hoped every morning that he wouldn't come across anything about Sam, but still, every morning he checked.

Spike sighed as he thought of the morbidity of the routine. Always checking to see if his friend was dead, never knowing if he was alive. His hope was fading and he with it.

He knew that he needed to stay strong but the harder he fought; the easier it was to fade away. Away from the team, away from his family, he didn't even get excited when he got the opportunity to take Babycakes out.

He knew that he needed to stay together but it was hard. It was something he was working on. Today was just a bad day, it was Sam's birthday.

Sam had never really celebrated but Spike had always managed to get him to go out for drinks. Spike never understood how Sam could just seem to forget about his birthday like it wasn't there so Spike always got Sam a present. Sam always seemed surprised when Spike handed him the present.

Spike stood and walked over to the locker. He silently slipped the birthday card in and went out to join the team.

Jules gave him a sad look when she saw him. She knew about his birthday ritual with Sam and knew that it must be hard on him, not knowing where his friend was or how he was doing.

Leah seemed to catch on to his mood and made it her mission of the day to keep Spike distracted. It had almost become her second job. Whenever it seemed someone was thinking too much about Sam, she was the day's entertainment.

"Hey Spike, you want to go out for drinks tonight? I split with my guy and want to go out to celebrate." Leah asked as she walked up.

Spike looked confused, "Your celebrating a breakup?"

Leah nodded, "It's like a divorce party, only I don't have to worry about alimony." Spike laughed and nodded his head to show he was willing to go out.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

They had a slow day patrolling and by the time they were off, both Spike and Leah were ready for a break in the monotony. They met up at their usual bar and both ordered a beer. After a few sips Spike broke the silence, "You know I really appreciate this."

Leah feigned ignorance and said, "What, drinks?"

Spike shook his head, "No, I meant being there for us, not getting fed up with all the adults who are acting childish because our friend is gone. You keep our minds in the here and now, you keep us together and you don't complain. You could have asked to be transferred off this team but you stuck with us. Thanks to you we aren't lost mourning for a friend who may not even be dead."

"First off, I didn't know Sam that well but I know he isn't gone, he's just on a sort of vacation to find himself again. He'll be back. Second, I wouldn't leave you guys like that. You needed someone to keep you guys going so you didn't get yourselves killed and leave Sam without a team to come back to. And third, I am a patient woman. I knew if I gave you guys' time you would come around and get back to normal. I was right, I only have to get after you guys every once in a while and it didn't take as long as I thought it would. You guys are strong, you just needed a push." Leah said holding up a finger for each new point.

"Well thanks for the push, we all appreciate it." Spike said with a smile.

Leah looked as if she was carefully choosing her next words but finally said, "Spike you seem more out of it today than usual. If you don't mind I was wondering if you would tell me why."

Spike sighed forlornly, "Today is Sam's birthday. When he joined he wouldn't even tell us when it was, he didn't celebrate it. But I hacked his file and found out. I took him out for a beer and gave him a present. He was shocked. After that it kind of became a thing, he took me out on my birthday; I took him out on his. We even did Christmas once."

Leah smiled sadly, "Tell you what, until he comes to his senses and comes back what do you say to keeping that tradition going with a new drinking buddy. Not a replacement, just a placeholder."

"I think I can live with that." Spike smiled. He was happy, Leah was a good friend and she had made it on Team one when they were going through their toughest time. She had come on after Lew died and if that hadn't been hard enough, Sam left unintentionally ruining any progress the team had made after Lew.

Leah smiled as the two SRU officers talked about whatever topic they could come up with next. She was finally coming into her own in the SRU and she was slowly becoming part of the family that is Team one. She had said earlier that they were strong, that strength came from the bond they shared. It was stronger than any team she had worked with before and she was glad to be part of it.

Leah knew they would be fine, and if not, well then she might just have to find Sam herself and drag him back by his ear. After knocking some sense into him of course, couldn't forget that part.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Sammy-boy!" Red called out as he made his way to Sam's side.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Sammy-boy?"

Red nodded, "Yeah it's like, um well… yeah I know it sucks. Did you know that you are practically impossible to nickname? You have been here eight months and I still got nothing. It's not like we can give you one based on what you do because you got half the camp teaching you new stuff. Jet has been working with you on being ninja, Doc is giving you medical training, Shift has you working on the jeep with him, Specs has you going over every blueprint for a bomb he has, you somehow got me to teach you code and you are already the best shot in every country we have been through."

Sam shrugged, "What can I say, I'm a fast learner and I figure all that stuff has to come in handy sooner or later."

"Nah you are just an over-achieving kiss ass." Red said giving Sam a playful shove.

Sam returned the shove, "You are just jealous you aren't as smart as I am."

"Ladies!" A voice called, "Stop bickering and get moving, we have to move camp." Sam and Red turned to see Ratchet motioning for them to get a move on.

"Again? What is this, the fourth time we have moved this week?" Sam muttered as they went to collect their gear.

Red shook his head, "Something is up, I wonder when Ratchet will fill us in."

Sam shrugged and both men went off to toss what little they had in the Humvees before tearing down everything.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Lefty, Specs, Cross and Doc were in the lead Humvee. Sam was in the center with Red, Shift and Falcon. Ratchet was bringing up the rear with Rocky, Jet and Bear. They had just set up their new base and were headed out on an assignment. They were joking over the coms when the lead Humvee exploded.

Burning shrapnel flew through the window catching Shift and Falcon. Sam's Humvee caught fire from the blast. Red and Sam immediately jumped out and went to work removing the two injured soldiers from the front of the Humvee.

Sam flung open the door and grabbed Shift. He tried to pull him out but noticed his leg was pinned between a piece of shrapnel and the steering wheel. Sam grabbed the wheel and with incredible strength, wrenched it into a higher position. As soon as Shift's leg was free Sam grabbed him and pulled him out onto the ground.

Suddenly Sam heard gunshots coming from the other side of the Humvee. He set Shift down and ran to help Red carry Falcon to cover on his side of the Humvee.

They settled down and Sam looked over the two injured men. Shift had a few small burns, a cut on his leg and possibly a concussion but he was awake, incoherent but awake. Falcon was worse, he had been turned sideways and his right side was covered in burns. Sam grabbed a bag from the Humvee and started ripping sheets of fabric and wrapping the around Falcon's burns in an attempt to keep the sand out.

Red caught on and began helping. The gunshots grew louder but this time Sam could hear the sound of return fire coming from the last Humvee.

Sam looked up at Red, "Did anyone from the first Humvee make it?" Red was silent. "Dammit Red, tell me! I need to know if anyone survived that. Lefty, Specs, Cross and Doc were in that Humvee and we could sure use their help right now."

Red looked into Sam's eyes and Sam knew no one had made it. Sam cursed under his breath as Red said, "Sorry Sam, I caught a glimpse of it as I was helping Falcon out, the thing is practically gone." Red's voice was tight and forced as if he couldn't bear to say the words, to admit his friends were dead.

Sam finished up the best he could with Falcon and turned to Red. "Are you hurt at all?"

Red shook his head, "No but you are." Red pointed to Sam's arm.

Sam looked and saw the blood seeping through the rip in the sleeve. "It's fine. I'll take care of it later, right now we have to get these two to the other Humvee." Sam's eyes went to Shift, "Can you walk?" Shift answered by standing slowly. Sam nodded to Red and they grabbed Falcon and began moving towards the last Humvee.

They stopped when bullets started flying past them. Sam and Red set Falcon down and pulled out their weapons. Hostiles were closing in from this side now and Sam watched in dismay as the remainder of the unit was forced into the safety of their Humvee.

The enemy was closing in fast Shift rasped out, "Sam, you and Red can make it to the other Humvee. Go and I'll cover you."

Sam shook his head, "No way in hell am I leaving two wounded men in the hands of the enemy. I don't think Red would either." Red nodded to show he agreed with Sam. They watched in silence as the Humvee drove off to get reinforcements. They were now outnumbered by hostile forces. They were quickly surrounded and forced to give up their weapons.

A man stepped forward and spoke in heavily accented English. "You will come with us now. You will tell us what we want to know and maybe you live. If not, we make you talk."

The three conscious men were silent as they were restrained. The man who spoke walked over to Falcon and lightly kicked him with his foot. Sam growled softly and Red's eyes grew dark. "He is alive so we take him as well." More men surged forward and grabbed the injured soldier.

They were lead over a hill and taken to a group of vehicles. Bags were thrown over their heads and they were thrown into one of the cars. Sam heard voices speaking in a different language before he felt someone strike his head. He felt a sharp pain and slid into unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

They could just make out the two burnt out Humvees in the fading light. The convoy rolled to a stop and several soldiers jumped out, guns at the ready. After a quick search of the immediate are they called an all clear.

Ratchet stepped out of one of the Humvees. He was followed by Bear, Jet and Rocky. They slowly walked up to the first Humvee. It was half gone from the blast of the earlier IED. They could just make out the burnt bodies of their fellow soldiers among the wreckage.

Ratchet sighed and turned away, he had lost four good men. Men that had friends and maybe families back home.

Rocky watched his CO for a moment before making his way to the other Humvee. He slowly opened the door, expecting to see four more bodies but was surprised to be met with an empty interior. Rocky spun around and motioned to the closest soldier. "Did you see any bodies in this area?" The man shook his head. "What about tracks?"

The soldier paused before saying, "I think one of our guys saw some leading over that small hill."

"Well go check it out! We have four missing soldiers here!" Rocky yelled.

Jet walked up to Rocky, "What's going on?"

Rocky ran a hand through his hair. "It's empty Jet and there are no more bodies. We got four guys MIA."

Jet's eyes widened but before he could say anything the soldier from earlier returned. "Sir, we followed the tracks and they lead over the hill to some tire tracks. Sir, we found these." The soldier held up four com units.

Rocky punched the burnt side of the nearby Humvee. "Dammit!"

Jet looked surprised by the outburst. "Rocky calm down, we will find them."

"You don't understand Jet," Rocky shook his head. "This was Sam's Humvee." Jet suddenly understood. Sam was like Rocky's little brother. Rocky was one of the more stoic guys in the unit but he had taken to Sam immediately. If Sam was gone Rocky would stop at nothing to get him back.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

General Braddock was in his office when his aide came in. "Sir, you have a Colonel James Rutherford on the line for you, he says it's urgent." The aide was nervous. The General nodded to indicate he would take the call, it was his son's CO and he knew the call couldn't be good.

"General Braddock." He answered his phone.

"Sir I'm afraid I have bad news. Our convoy was ambushed this morning. We lost four men and four others have disappeared, we assume that they were taken. Sir, I'm sorry but your son is among those missing."

General Braddock took a deep breath, "Thank you for informing me, keep me updated." He hung up the phone quickly.

He had never had a good relationship with his son, but he was still a father. The call worried him. He had placed Sam in that unit because he knew that the young Braddock would make a name for himself there. He knew the risks that unit faced but he had never imagined his son would ever become a possible POW. He sighed and wondered if he should tell his wife or wait until they heard anything definitive.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Ratchet hung up the phone and muttered, "Well wasn't he a cheery fellow."

Bear looked up, "You mean General Bad ass? Yeah Sam said he was a piece of work. Didn't talk about him much though."

"I can see why. The guy hung up on me after I told him his son was missing." Ratchet shook his head, imagining what it must have been like to grow up with that man as a father. "So we are eight guys short, we have no tech, medical, pilot, sniper, or bomb guy. How are we going to do this?"

Rocky stood, "I don't care how we do it we just need to get it done. I know we are short but we just need a couple of the right guys and we can find them. Sam knows how to treat battle wounds so we don't have to worry about them staying alive, what we need to worry about is finding those SOB's that set up that ambush. They wanted soldiers alive, if they hadn't we would have four more bodies on our hands. We will find them; it's just a matter of how fast."

Jet nodded in agreement. "They will try to leave clues if they can. If they get anywhere near a computer, Red will get us a message but until then, we are on our own. I'm with Rocky on this one, we will find them, and if we are lucky, they will find us first."

The four men sat in silence as they tried to figure out how to find their friends. Finally Bear spoke, "Sitting around here isn't going to get us anywhere. What we need is someone to get us some of that satellite imaging stuff."

Jet jumped up, "Bear, you are a genius!" Jet grabbed the satellite phone from Ratchet and punched in a number. He spoke into the phone extremely fast; spouting off latitude and longitude of the area he wanted coverage of.

After a while Jet hung up the phone and said, "One of my old friends from JTF-2 works with military intelligence now so he has access to satellites and stuff. He said it might take a few days to go through everything but he if the computer recognizes any of the players, he can get us a name."

Ratchet smiled, "Good thinking Jet, now we have a direction to head in. While we are waiting, I'll call in a favor and see if I can get an unmanned drone to scout the area for any nearby hideouts."

Rocky watched as his teammates moved to do what they could to find their missing comrades. Rocky looked down at the picture they had taken together on Christmas and vowed to find them, no matter what it took.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam groaned as he regained consciousness. It took him a moment before he remembered the events that led up to his capture. Sam looked around him and saw three other forms on the floor. Sam tried to move towards them but stopped when he felt something biting into his ankle. He looked down and saw he was shackled to the wall with a very short chain. Sam growled and pulled on the chain with annoyance.

Sam heard the rustling of another chain and heard a voice say, "Sam you awake?" Sam turned to see Red looking at him.

"Yeah, are you ok?" Sam asked, wishing he could make his way to his friend.

Red was silent for a moment, "My head is a bit sore but, I'm good. Shift and Falcon are still out though. How about you?"

Sam shrugged, "I'm fine, and actually I'm great. Shouldn't my arm be hurting?" Sam remembered his earlier injury and looked only to find it bandaged. "Huh, would you look at that. Guess these guys don't want us dying on them just yet, they fixed up my arm pretty well."

"I wonder what they want." Red wondered aloud.

Sam gave his chain a tug before replying. "If I remember correctly, the answer to that question is information, and I'm guessing it's something they can't find on Google."

Red chuckled, "Probably not."

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

They had been alone for hours before Sam heard the door open. His eyes met Red's before they went to the door. A man walked in, the man Sam remembered had spoken to them at the sight of the ambush.

"I see you are awake." The man walked to stand over Sam. He sneered, "That makes it more fun." He motioned for the two men that had followed him in to grab Sam.

As they were picking him up Sam looked over at Red and sent him a silent message that he would be okay. Then they put the bag back over his head and walked him out.

Sam began memorizing turns and the number of footsteps in between. At one point he felt the sun's warmth on his skin and realized they were outside, it was probably why they put the bag over his head. If they were that concerned then maybe the area was recognizable, if that was the case then maybe they stood a chance if they ever got free.

Sam's thoughts were cut off as he was thrown into a chair. He felt himself being tied to it with what felt like duct tape. They yanked the bag off his head and Sam came face to face with the man from earlier. He stayed silent as he watched the man move around.

"So, you are going to tell me what I want to know. I want locations of your military camps, times of operations, weapons storehouses, targets, codes, any and every military secret you have ever even heard whispers about." The man paced as he spoke. Sam followed him with his eyes but said nothing.

The man smiled, "So that's how it's going to be." He nodded to someone behind Sam, who felt someone pull his head back harshly. They placed a cloth over his face and Sam took a discreet breath before he felt the water hitting the cloth.

After what felt like hours but was probably only fifteen second the cloth was removed. Sam breathed in deeply but stayed silent. The man in front of him nodded again and the cloth was back. Every time it was longer before they removed it but Sam had been trained well and could hold his breath for several minutes. They hadn't come close to his limit when it finally stopped.

"Well it seems that such refined methods won't be of use on this one. How about we try something more… shocking." The man laughed at his bad pun as his men pulled out jumper cables and what looked like a car battery.

They attached the cables to Sam and then the battery. Sam shook slightly but managed to keep the scream working its way up his throat down. The vein in his neck bulged with the effort to stay silent and still. The current finally stopped and Sam slumped forward, exhausted.

"Tell me what you know!" The man screamed grabbing Sam's chin and forcing to look him in the eye.

Sam's mouth set in a thin determined line an in a voice devoid of any emotion he said, "Master Corporal Samuel Braddock, N85-63-8936." A hint of satisfaction entered Sam's eyes as he saw his interrogator's lip turn up in annoyance at his response.

With another nod from the man, the current went coursing through Sam's body again. This time was slightly longer and Sam couldn't help letting out a small strangled sound. The man smiled as he heard the tiny sound and almost as soon as the power was cut he nodded for it to be turned on again.

For Sam it felt like it went on for hours, and it probably did as he had noticed the fading light coming through the only window in the room that was too high up on the wall for him to get any idea of where they were. By the end Sam's throat was hoarse from screaming, he had tried his best not to but even he had his limits. He was exhausted and his entire body felt like it was on fire but he had not spoken a single word since he quoted his name, rank, and service number.

He distantly felt himself being lifted and the bag being placed over his head. He was dragged back to his cell and he barely had the presence of mind to memorize steps and turns to solidify the path in his mind for future use.

The bag was torn from his head as he was thrown to the floor. He heard the door close and he realized they hadn't shackled him to the wall. He turned his head and saw Red looking at him with concern. He dragged himself till he was leaning on the wall next to his friend.

"God Sam, you look like crap." Red said as he looked Sam over for any injuries. Sam barely registered the comment and moaned slightly as Red's hands ghosted over the electrocution burns on his arms. "Shift and Falcon woke up earlier, they were worried about you. You were gone so long they fell back asleep. They must be tired from their injuries." Red said, trying to get Sam's mind off the pain.

Sam heard the door open and grabbed Red's arm. He managed a whispered, "Stay strong," before his friend was dragged away. He turned to look at the two men left in the room with him. They were just beginning to stir when he finally lost consciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam closed his eyes as he felt the hot blood running down his face. The pain wasn't too bad and so Sam could still think coherently. They had been captive what Sam had judged to be about a month, at least that he had been conscious for.

This was not the first time they had tortured him for information, but it was the first time they drew blood. Before, it had been waterboarding, electrocution, drugs, and the occasional belt whipping that left behind only welts. Now it seemed they had moved on to more barbaric tactics. Sam winced almost imperceptibly as he felt the knife bite into his exposed chest. The cut wasn't too deep, just deep enough to cause pain but not enough to even come close to dying.

Sam stayed silent as he felt the blade drawing paths of fire over his skin. Suddenly the knife drew away and Sam chanced a glance up to see what was coming next. A man approached him with a bucket of what smelled like rubbing alcohol; Sam didn't bother hiding the wince as the man smiled and dumped the entire bucket on him saying, "Wouldn't want you to get an infection.

The alcohol burned in the myriad of cuts that now covered his torso and the single cut above his eyebrow. Sam closed his eyes tightly and bit back a scream of pain, he didn't want to give the smiling man the pleasure of hearing his screams.

Sam retreated into his mind as he felt one of the men extinguish a lit cigarette in the flesh of his bare arm. He stepped back and seemed to watch from afar as another man stepped forward with what looked to be a curling iron. A slap to the face brought him back to reality.

"Where is your base of operations?" The man hissed under his breath. Sam recognized his voice as the man who had conducted his first torture session.

Sam looked the man in the eye and defiantly answered, "Master Corporal Samuel Braddock, N85-63-8936." Sam watched as the man's eyes narrowed in anger. Without warning the man thrust the hot curling iron into Sam's back. Half a scream escaped Sam before he could hold it down.

The man's eyes lit up at the pained sound. "Now, now you know how much I love it when you scream. So do it, again." The man moved the iron into Sam's back again but with more force. Sam arched his back as best he could from his restrained position on his knees. The hands of the two men holding him gripped tighter, their fingers digging into cuts on his shoulders. A hiss was all that escaped Sam's mouth and the man looked disappointed.

"Well," the man sighed, "If you won't tell me what I want to know, and you won't give me the pleasure of hearing you scream, maybe I'll bring one of your friends in here and you can watch as I have fun with them"

Sam's eyes darkened at the thought of his friends going through this because he was to prideful to scream. The man noticed, "If you don't give me one of those, I think I'll bring in the one you call Falcon, he is still recovering from the injuries he sustained coming here, yes?"

Sam's eyes narrowed but this time when the hot iron came down, he didn't keep back the scream.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam landed in a heap in front of the sleeping forms of his friends. He caught part of a jeer from the guards before he heard the door close. The body directly in front of him moved and Sam realized they had been faking so they could be left together, they didn't like sleeping victims.

"Jesus, Sam. What the hell did they do to you?" Sam recognized Shift's voice. He groaned slightly as he felt Shift check him over. He knew he must look horrible. They had bandaged his torso to keep away any major infections but the cuts and burns on his arms were still exposed and they hadn't bothered cleaning the blood off his face.

"Nice to see you too Shift." Sam said moving into a sitting position. He looked over at Red and Falcon who really were sleeping and asked hoarsely, "How are they holding up?"

Shift snorted, "You come in here covered in blood and the first thing you ask is if the two guys sleeping are alright. Wow, Sam, you are something else. They are fine, Falcon has been in and out, and he isn't recovering from his burns as quickly as we hoped. I'm afraid if they go too hard on him, he won't make it past another month or two."

Sam sighed but was suddenly glad he had given up on what pride he had and allowed himself to scream to save his teammate from pain. "He will get better, they don't want us to die before they get what they want." Sam's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Sam, you don't sound so good." Red sat up and turned to look at his friend. He froze momentarily at the sight of the younger man covered in blood and bandages. "That doesn't look like their usual work."

Sam looked down before saying, "Well it's nice of you to join us sleeping beauty."

"Ha funny, sleeping beauty. But seriously Sam, you look like you went through a meat grinder." Red replied sarcastically.

Sam readjusted his position and grimaced, "No, just an over enthusiastic man with a knife and a hot curling iron." Red gave him a sympathetic look before the three men went silent.

Falcon finally stirred and all three men were at his side. "Guys, I can sit up on my own." Falcon complained dryly. Sitting up he gets his first look at Sam. "Holy crap Sam you lo…"

"Look like hell, yeah so I've been told." Sam says, interrupting the other man. The men chuckle at Sam's comment. The door swings open and the room goes silent. A tray of food and a water pitcher slides in and the door slams shut.

Red grabs the tray and brings it over to the others. He quickly doles out the small portions as the others take a drink from the pitcher. They eat silently and wait for the men to return to take another one of them.

No one comes and soon it is night. Sam watches as the others fall asleep. He checks his wounds as he goes over all the information he has gleaned. He has every path of the compound that he has been through committed to memory. From the different men he has encountered and the sound of boots passing every few minutes as well as the number of voices he heard coming from the mess hall the one time they passed it, Sam estimates there are about seventy men on site at any given time. He assumes their leader is either the man who questioned him today or someone who has yet to show his face. If he can just find a way to get rid of the shackles at least one of them always wears, and find the armory, they might stand a chance of escaping.

With that hope in mind, Sam begins a low impact workout to keep up his strength as he runs plans through his mind, looking for flaws and better options at every turn.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam could feel the heat radiating from Falcon from a foot away. Falcon was in bad condition, he hadn't fully healed from the burns he received during their capture about three months ago. Several days before, he went through a particularly brutal session with their interrogator and had since contracted an infection.

Sam stared at his friend feeling useless. He had nothing to help with the infection and it seemed their captors had no inclination to provide anything useful. Sam wanted desperately to help but even if they had medicine, Sam knew it wouldn't be much help at this stage. They were being forced to watch their friend die, slowly and painfully.

Sam huffed inwardly and thought how this was the worst kind of torture to be put through. They were all strong men of action; they could handle knives, burns, beatings and all forms of physical torment. What they couldn't stand, was the helplessness they felt being right next to their friend and unable to even ease his suffering. They had all taken turns beating on the door or yelling for someone to come and at the very least give the man pain killers so he didn't have to die in pain. It had proved useless, the one man who had come to the door laughed and walked away.

Sam watched as Falcon's chest rose and fell, and then it didn't rise again. Sam moved forward, "Falcon?" Red's head snapped up at Sam's voice and Shift moved towards their friend. Red pulled on the shackles on his ankles in an effort to be near his fading teammate.

Shift leaned down over Falcon. "Falcon, come on man, don't do this." Shift looked up at Sam, "No pulse and he isn't breathing." Sam lunged forward and started chest compressions hoping in vain to bring their friend back. He felt Shift's hand on his shoulder and turned to look him in the eye. "He's gone Sam. You can't do anything."

Shift began to pull Sam away when Red shouted, "That's it? You're just going to give up on him? How could you? He's your friend!"

Sam turned to Red, "Shift is right, Red. I could resuscitate him if I tried hard enough, sure, but it wouldn't help. It would just prolong his suffering. I couldn't do that to him just so we could have him around for a few more minutes or an hour."

Red looked at Sam, his eyes showing a fading anger, he knew what Sam said was the truth. He didn't want his friend to suffer for his selfishness.

Suddenly the door was thrown open and men rushed in, dragging Sam and Shift across the room and chaining them to the wall. They yelled in protest as they saw more men come in and carry out their dead friend.

As quickly as it started, it was over. Sam, Shift and Red sat in the silence and looked at the spot where Falcon had been moments before.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Several hours later, the door swung open. The man who Sam assumed to be the leader walked in holding four pairs of dog tags. "Now, I just thought I should let you know, we are returning your friend to your military but it might take them awhile to figure out who he is so…"

"What did you do to him?" Shift spat out angrily. Red's eyes darkened and Sam let out a low growl.

The man smiled sickeningly, "Just made it hard to identify him without dental records." His smile widened as the three bound men hurled insults at him. As they quieted he said, "Now I was thinking of giving them a bit of help but at the same time I can't make it easy, so whose dog tags go with the body? Now I could send Andrew "Red" McCarthy, your mother would be devastated, Christopher "Shift Blackwell, how is that sister of yours, or Samuel Braddock, maybe I could drop them on your father's doorstep."

Red froze when the man mentioned his mother. Shift frowned because his sister had died years before in a car accident. Sam looked defiant and determined to not give the man the reaction he was looking for. "Send mine."

Red and Shift's eyes widened when Sam spoke. The man who asked the question had a similar reaction, he clearly hadn't been expecting that. Sam inwardly smiled at having caught their captor off guard.

The man recovered quickly and said, "Seems we have a volunteer, now that would just be too easy. I think I will send them all, gift wrapped with a bow. How does that sound?" They glared in response.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam heard chains rustle from where Shift was. He turned his head as he heard, "They have old intel on us." Sam raised an eyebrow. "My sister died a few years ago, car accident. But he didn't seem to know that."

"If they have old intel, maybe they don't know my mother's new address. She moved last year." Red said, the hope evident in his voice.

The room is silent for a while before Sam speaks up, "I caught him off guard. I think maybe we stand a chance of getting out of here if we play our cards right. One of them is bound to slip up eventually and give us the opportunity we need."

Red shook his head in agreement. "We just need for the rest of us to stay alive till that happens."

"We will, for Falcon. We have to survive long enough to make them pay for Falcon's death. We will get out of here and we will honor our friend." Sam said confidently.

Shift looked at Sam and smiled, "Well, said Sam. We will get out of here for our fallen comrade."

The room grew quiet as the three men sat with their thoughts. Sam looked at the two men left with him. They had skill, they had hope, and now, they had purpose. Sam was sad that a man had to die to give them that purpose but now there was no way they could fail, they couldn't, not with the weight of Falcon's death on their minds. It was like he said; they would get out, for Falcon.


	12. Chapter 12

The soldiers were joking around on their normal rounds when one of them suddenly stopped. His face went white and the others with him turned to see what he was looking at. It was a charred body that seemed to have been dumped. One of the soldiers pulled out a radio to call it in to base while a braver one in the group stepped forward to inspect the body. He froze when he saw what was lying on top of the body.

There sitting in plain view and untouched by flame, sat four sets of dog tags.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Ratchet hung up the phone with a sigh. He had just gotten word from a nearby base that an unidentifiable body showed up with his men's dog tags. He hoped that it was a bluff and that the body belonged to a random enemy soldier and had been sent to rile them up. However, he had a horrible gut feeling that it was one of his guys.

Ratchet walked outside to where his remaining men were. "I just got off the sat-phone with a base in the area, they found a body and they think it's one of our guys."

Bear looked up, "Why would they think that?"

"Their dog tags were on the body." Ratchet sighed.

Rocky stood, "Whose tags were they?"

Ratchet looked down for a moment before meeting Rocky's gaze, "All four of them."

"So they don't know which one it is?" Jet said, "Maybe it's not even one of our guys, maybe it's a hoax to get us to stop looking or something."

"They are waiting for copies of dental records form Sam, Shift, Red and Falcon. They will let us know if it is one of them." Ratchet said.

A growl came from Rocky, "Dental records? The body has to be identified by dental records? What kind of bastards are these people that they have to disfigure our men so badly they need to be identified by dental records?" By the end of his rant, Rocky was practically shouting. Bear reaches out and puts a steadying hand on Rocky's shoulder. Rocky calms at the touch but looks pointedly at Ratchet.

Ratchet looks at Rocky, unsure what to tell the man. They had been unsuccessful in their search for months, even the stills they managed to capture from satellite images had proved useless in the end. The men in them where not on any database or watch list, they were ghosts. Ratchet shook his head and sighed then sat down to wait for the call telling him which of his men would be sent home in a casket.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

General Braddock sat staring at the dog tags in his hands. He had been on base having a meeting when they heard the commotion and were told about the body that had been found. As he and the other officers were watching, one of the men from the patrol walked up to him and handed him four set of dog tags.

"Sir," the man had said, "These were found on the body, and Sir, one of them belongs to a Samuel Braddock."

The General had dismissed the soldier and hidden any emotion he felt behind a rock solid mask. Once he was alone, he pulled his son's tags away from the others and sat staring at it. That's how he was found several hours later when the base medical examiner found him.

"Sir, I've identified the body." General Braddock looked up as he heard the man speak. He motioned for the man to continue, hopping the body was not his son's. "The body is that of Joshua Crowley, known as Falcon to his unit."

"Thank you, you are dismissed." The General watched as the man left and let out a small sigh of relief after he was gone. He was sad for the loss of a good soldier but it had not been his son, he still might have a chance to begin a relationship with his son.

He stood and prepared to call his son's CO and deliver the news, and caught a glimpse of the news covering the appearance of the body. General Braddock's eyes narrowed, the discovery was supposed to have been kept under wraps but as long as no names got out it should be fine.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

"Yes Sir, are they sure? Yes… thank you Sir. I understand Sir." Ratchet spoke quickly. As the person on the other end hung up he set the phone down and turned to his men. "I have just been informed that they identified the body. It's Falcon." Ratchet paused as the three men reacted, cursing and yelling. When they calmed down, Ratchet continued. "There is also an unexpected problem. A local news reporter managed to find out about it and it's on the news. We can't retrieve the body without exposing this unit and if we do that, it wouldn't be good for Red, Sam, and Shift."

Jet spoke up after a moment of silence, "I understand that we can't get him, but can we send someone who can or have someone bring him to us? I would like to pay my respects before his body id sent home." Bear and Rocky agreed, they wanted to honor their fallen friend.

"I'll see what I can do." Ratchet replied, also wanting to do the same. He walked off to make a call and left the remainder of his unit to mourn their comrade.


	13. Chapter 13

Jules was running on a treadmill alongside Wordy. Ed walked in and went over to the punching bag. As Jules looked up to watch Ed, she noticed the headline on the news. She stopped the machine and reached for the remote, turning up the sound.

The reporter on the screen stood in what seemed to be a temporary overseas military base, next to a medical tent. "They just brought the body in for identification. It was apparently found by several soldiers on their morning rounds. It had been dumped and my sources tell me the body was burnt beyond recognition. I've also been told that when the body was discovered there were several pairs of dog tags with it. We have no confirmation, but the body could be that of one of several rumored POW's in the area. We have been unable to confirm any identities of those involved; in fact it seems as if the soldiers in question do not exist."

The woman paused as a producer walked up to her and whispered in her ear. "We have just received unconfirmed reports that one of the pairs of dog tags found on the body belongs to the son of a high ranking officer of the Army. No word on who that officer is but he is believed to be on base at this moment."

Greg took the remote from Jules hand and shut off the television. "Jules, he's fine. I doubt that has anything to do with him."

"Are you sure about that?" Jules turned on Greg. "How can you be so sure? That could be his body they are talking about, or it could be the next one. He may be dead already, so how the hell can you say that he's fine?" Jules voice grew in volume with each word.

Wordy stepped of his treadmill, "Jules, you need to calm down, you don't know if that is him as much as you don't that it isn't."

Jules eyes flashed with anger, "Don't tell me to calm down, I've been calm for months. Don't give me that crap Wordy; you know that you are thinking the same thing. All of you are, and once Spike see's it he will too."

"See's what?" Spike's voice asks as he enters the room with Leah.

Jules snatched the remote from Greg's hand and turned the TV back to where the reporter was going over the details of the body. Jules pointed at the TV without a word. Leah groaned inwardly, she had seen the story on the early morning news and had been trying to keep Spike and the others from seeing it all afternoon. She watched as Spike's face paled slightly as he realized what the argument he had walked in on was about. Leah bit back a groan, knowing today was going to be a bad day and a lot of her work keeping the team together was at risk of coming undone.

Spike was just opening his mouth to speak when Ed interrupted him. "Listen, I know what you are thinking, and I won't deny that I think the same thing every time I see a story like that on the news, but we can't do this. Fighting and worrying ourselves sick when these things happen isn't good for us. We need to stick together as a team; we can't do that if we are at each other's throats every time some random soldier dies. It can't be Sam every time, besides I don't think Sam would let himself get killed out there, not when he has something to come back to."

The room was quiet as everyone thought about what Ed said. Leah was biting back a smile at seeing Ed finally come to his senses, if she was lucky the rest would follow suit, he was team leader after all.

"I'm sorry Ed, I know I've been acting like an idiot but I can't stand not knowing." Jules sighed in frustration.

Spike nodded in agreement, "I'm with Jules on that one. Sam really helped me after Lew and I can't stand thinking he might be gone and I'll never know. I don't want to lose another friend; I don't think I could handle it." Wordy walked over and put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"We all feel that way Spike," Greg chimed in, "Sam may have come to us in a less than conventional way but he is family. He is dealing with things the only way he knows how, the same way Darren Kovacs was, by going back to where things made sense. Unlike Kovacs though, Sam is a fighter and he will get things sorted out and he will find his way back. We will be here for him when he does."

Leah smiled, "Thank you Sarge," Everyone turned to look at her questioningly. "You have finally managed to address the elephant in the room and it will help a lot. You guys have been dwelling on this for far too long and now that it's finally been dealt with openly, maybe you guys will see that you all feel the same way but that you can't dwell on what might be. You need to focus on the here and now and keep this team, keep this family strong. I know it's not really my place to say but you have been mourning too long for someone who you all know isn't dead and it's tearing you apart. Sam wouldn't have wanted that, I'm sure he thought that would never happen, otherwise I doubt he would have left. He knew you are strong and with what you all just said, you proved him right, so thank you. Thank you for becoming a family again, for sticking together, but mostly for not giving up on Sam. I know him the least out of everyone here, but even I know how much he loves you guys, and how loyal he is to you. When the time is right, he will be back, so stay strong until he is."

As Leah finished her speech Wordy clapped for her and the others joined in, causing her to blush. Just as someone was to say something, Winnie announced a hot call and everything was put on hold as they went to keep the peace.


	14. Chapter 14

Sam arched his back in pain as the whip landed with an audible crack. The pain caused his vision to darken briefly before it faded. Sam felt the blood from the freshly broken skin run down his back. As he heard the whip whistling through the air he distantly wondered if they got this guy from a circus or if he just stepped out of an Indiana Jones movie. The whip landed with another loud crack, interrupting Sam's thoughts.

He had lost any sense of how long the lashings had been going on. Spots swam across his eyes as he tried to keep from blacking out. He wanted to be conscious when they escorted him back, in case they changed routes and gave him more area to memorize.

As the whip came down again, Sam heard the all too familiar voice of his captor asking for codes. Sam wondered how the man could think that he was ever going to get an answer to one of those questions. They had been captives for what Sam assumed to be around four and a half months, if they hadn't caved by now then they wouldn't.

Sam grit his teeth and mumbled softly. A hand grabbed his face and yanked it up. "What was that? You should learn how to speak clearly and not mumble boy." The man sneered, his face inches from Sam's.

Sam glared at him and solemnly repeated, "Master Corporal Samuel Braddock, N85-63-8936." It had become something of a mantra to Sam over the months. Red and Shift hadn't been in much condition to talk lately so it had become the only thing he had been saying. The others had already had sessions with the man Sam was currently enjoying the company of. They had come back much worse for the wear and Sam now understood why.

His answer was met with another strike of the whip. Sam grimaced as he felt the skin on his back split open. Sam felt himself slump forward slightly, only to be held in place by the chains holding his arms above his head. He listened as they jingled and clanked together, creating a sad sort of song, memorializing his pain.

Sam inwardly shook his head to dispel such depressing thoughts, instead opting to think about how if he only had something sturdy to use he could pick the old rusted locks on the shackles his two friends were currently wearing back in their cell.

He distantly registered the whip stopping and men releasing him from his bonds. He fell into the arms of two men who then, thinking he was unconscious, dragged him out and back towards his cell.

This was the first time he had ever been escorted about without a hood over his head. He discreetly opened one eye so it was barely a slit. He began memorizing side hallways he didn't have mapped in his brain; he counted boots in every room they passed that had an open door. When they went outside Sam quickly closed his eye in an attempt to block out the sudden and blinding light. When he chanced opening his eye he realized it was an outdoor walk way that joined the two buildings. Sam shifted his head slightly and took in what he could of the outside world before they went back inside. It was mostly open desert but he saw the shadows of a few buildings in the edges of his sight line. As they walked back inside, it took a second for Sam's vision to adjust but as it did he was pleased to see what looked like an armory as he caught a glimpse of guns when someone exited the room. Sam almost let a smile creep into his carefully schooled features but caught himself as the guards stopped at the door Sam recognized to be his own.

Sam let the men toss him inside and stayed still for a moment before carefully sitting up. He winced as the movement tore open the scabbed over edges of his back wounds. He felt the warm wet blood join the now almost dried blood on his back. He knew they would send someone in shortly to tend to his wounds; they didn't want any more prisoners dying before they wanted them to.

Sam raised his head and his eyes met with Shift's across the room. He looked concerned and Sam acknowledged him with a grunt. Shift's eyes drifted to Sam's gory back and Sam thought he saw indignation and rage briefly flash in his eyes. Sam had seen both Shift and Red after they had gone a round with the whip and from Shift's reaction Sam was in a much worse state then they had been in. Sam wondered darkly if he was just a favorite, and got extra special attention.

Shift tried to move forward but was stopped by the chains that held his ankle to the wall. The clanking chains seemed to alert Red and his head shot up and looked around the room. Red's eyes widened upon taking in Sam, covered in blood.

Sam slowly crawled towards Red, who was the closer of the two. The movement caused immense pain but Sam just wanted to be near his friend. When Sam finally reached Red he laid his head in the man's lap as his body fell to the ground with a soft thud.

Sam felt Red's fingers gently running through his hair in a comforting gesture. Sam smiled weakly and let himself drift off.

His thoughts turned to his morning sessions with Jet as he went over techniques. Sam then felt his thoughts drift to Rocky, a man who he saw as an older brother, one he was closer to than even the guys from the SRU. Sam felt himself frown slightly at the thought of his old team. He missed them so much it was almost unbearable.

He wanted to see them again, Greg, Wordy, Ed, Spike…Jules. God he missed Jules, she always made him feel better, even after the toughest calls. And Spike, the man was like the energizer bunny on steroids. Sam chuckled at the thought of him ever meeting Red, those two would be such good friends it was almost scary. Wordy was his rock, the older man was always there when he needed him and always seemed to know just what to say, it must come with being a father to a couple of amazing little girls. Sam could almost imagine the chewing out he would get from both Ed and Greg if he ever saw them again. He silently promised that if he did make it out of this, the first chance he got he would get back in the SRU. He knew he must have hurt them all when he left, but they were family and they would welcome him back.

Sam had been imagining their reactions to seeing him again when he was drawn from his thoughts by a hand prodding his back. He hissed in pain as the unknown man began to treat his torn back. It burned at first then went slightly numb and Sam barely felt the man wrapping bandages around his torso.

When the man finally left it took Sam a moment to realize he hadn't been chained up again. It was the first time since Falcon's death that one of them had been left unchained. Sam realized grimly that it was because they didn't saw him as a threat in the state he was in. Despite that, Sam relaxed into the soothing touch of Red's hand on his head and allowed himself to fall into a restless sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Sam was exhausted. The day before was a blur of pain and the disturbingly clear sound of a whip rushing through the air. His back was stiff and he could tell he had already bled through the bandages.

This had been his third time with the whip wielding maniac, it hadn't been as bad as the first time but his back was still healing from the second. He was actually glad that now he would get some down time to heal, and though his captors didn't know it, he would work on his ever evolving escape plan.

It had been a month before when he saw the location of the armory and now almost his entire plan revolved around getting to that room. His planning was interrupted when the door opened. He heard someone enter and stand next to him. The unknown man kicked at his shackled leg but Sam stayed still. The man then went to work, ruthlessly tearing off his bandages and reopening some of his wounds. Sam stayed still and silent as he felt the blood pooling in the small of his back and waited for the man to put new dressings on his wounds.

The man soon left and Sam moved experimentally, testing to see if his freshly bandaged torso could move without sending pain shooting through his entire body. Sam smiled when he felt almost no pain from the movement, his recovery time was getting better.

The door opened again and Sam was surprised when a man came in and set the food down instead of sliding it in like normal. Sam studied the man, trying to find what was different about this time. As the man stood to leave, his eyes connected with Sam's for a second and in that second Sam saw what looked to be regret and guilt.

When the man left, Sam was almost to shocked to move, then he heard Red's raspy voice, "That was different."

Sam quickly grabbed the food and slid some to Shift and Red. He watched as Red began to eat. Red hadn't spoken since he came back a week ago with his back looking like ground beef. Sam wondered silently if the man was starting to break. Of the three of them, Red had seen the least combat. Before this unit, he had been almost strictly tech support. He had trained relentlessly and passed physical tests with flying colors, but tests were of little help in situations like the one they were currently in. No one was ever ready for something like this, but Red had the disadvantage of not being battle hardened. It was also unfortunate that his tech background meant he had more valuable information stored in his head than Shift and Sam did.

As Sam turned his head to look back at his meager plate of food a small glimmer of something metallic caught his eye by where the tray had been. Sam reached forward and was just able to reach the small object. As he looked at it, it seemed to be a metal wire, similar to a paper clip but slightly thinner and not bent in the same way.

Sam's heart almost leaped out of his chest with joy as he realized it was just what he needed to pick the locks on their shackles.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam had been working on picking the lock for two days when they took Shift for his turn with the interrogators. It wasn't working as well as he had hoped, the lock was old and rusted, making it hard to find the right angle to go in from.

Sam always froze when the door opened. He was careful to not jerk his arm and hide the wire; he knew that would be too suspicious. This time was no different. Sam watched silently as they brought Shift in and dressed his wounds. He carefully concealed the small wire in his hand and slowly dropped it to the ground behind his heel and placed his foot over it, making it look like he was simply readjusting his position.

When the men left Sam resumed his fiddling. It took him several more days before he got it. When he heard the lock click and felt the cuff open it took all of Sam's self-control not to shout in triumph.

Over the next several days he worked on Shift's chains, knowing he would be given a small medical break to heal. Sam watched the door carefully, whenever he saw a shadow stop at the small space under the door he moved as quickly and quietly as he could and half closed the shackle around his ankle.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

The day that Sam finally got Shift's unlocked, the guards came for Red. He was gone for hours and when he was finally brought back, he was in horrid condition. Sam knew that if they waited too long for Red to heal, they would come for him. If that happened their escape attempt would be discovered.

Sam left a day for Red to heal then took on his ankle cuff with vigor. Sam knew if he timed it right, he could give Red the most healing time he could.

Sam finished with Red's restraints a day before Sam was supposed to go for his visit with the resident psychopath. So instead of going immediately, Sam decided to wait and bide his time.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam woke early, or at least it seemed early to Sam as he had nothing to measure the time. He quietly roused Shift and Red, helping the latter to his feet.

Sam was concerned when he saw Red sway slightly. Red saw his concerned gaze and gave a small nod of acknowledgement to let Sam know he was fine. Sam was unconvinced but decided if Red had trouble he and Shift could take care of it.

They waited until the guards came for Sam. When the door opened, the three soldiers rushed it and quickly took down the two lone guards.

With a swift jerk, Sam and Shift brought the two men into the room. Red caught the door as Shift threw his man into the nearby wall. With a calculated move Sam reached up and almost effortlessly broke the neck of the man he pulled in. The body slumped to the floor and Sam dragged him farther into the room.

Sam looked up in time to see Shift deal a killing blow to the head of his opponent. As the three men slunk into the hall and towards where Sam knew the armory to be Sam couldn't help but smile and think, about time.


	16. Chapter 16

Sam peered around the corner and quickly searched the hall. He quickly drew his head back when a door opened and a man walked out. Sam almost sighed with relief when he went the other way down the hall.

When the coast was clear, Sam motioned for Red and Shift to follow him down the hall. They came upon the door for the armory and had to press up against the wall when the door opened. The man was oblivious to their presence as he walked out. He had just turned and caught a glimpse of the escaped prisoners when Sam snapped his neck from behind. The body fell limply to the floor.

Sam tentatively entered the room, searching for enemy soldiers. When he was convinced the room was empty, he motioned for the others to join him. Shift quickly dragged the body in the room as Red grabbed a nearby gun.

Sam grabbed three TAC vests from the wall and threw one to Red and one to shift before quickly shrugging the last one on himself. Sam hurriedly began strapping grenades and knives onto the vest. As he watched Shift and Red do the same he grabbed two M16's and looped the straps over his shoulders. He reached across the table in the middle of the room and grabbed a Berretta M9 to strap to his leg. Sam then began filling any pockets he had with extra clips.

Sam glanced over at Red and frowned to see him struggling with his vest. Sam knew that in his condition he wouldn't be much help but if the sheen of sweat covering his face was anything to go by, Red wouldn't make it far. Sam shot a look to Shift who nodded in acknowledgement and the two made a silent pact to keep an eye on their teammate.

Sam finished strapping a second Berretta M9 to his other leg and grabbed a final M16 before he headed out the door.

Shift and Red followed close behind, letting Sam take the lead as this was his area of expertise and he was in the best condition of the three men.

Sam led them to the outdoor walkway and they quietly slipped outside. Sam saw the back of a guard and wanting to stay unnoticed as long as possible, slid out a knife and stealthily walked up behind the man and slit his throat. The man fell dead at Sam's feet and he dragged him out of the walkway.

Just as Sam was straightening back up he hears Shift fire his weapon and instinctively turns around, weapon raised. Sam sees a body at the other end of the walkway and realizes someone must have stumbled upon them. He gives a quick nod to Shift before going to check the man is dead.

An alarm sounds throughout the compound; someone must have heard the shots.

Sam turns to face the door as it opens and several hostiles run out into the walkway. Sam immediately drops one with three shots to center mass. As he goes down a bullet from Red's Berretta M9 hits another in the shoulder.

Shift opens fire and hits several as they run through the doors. Those that survive soon return fire and Sam ducks as a bullet whizzes past his left ear. Sam duck turns into a shoulder roll and he fire continuously, every bullet hitting a mark.

Two more men drop as Sam rises; several others are sporting bullet wounds to arms or legs. One of the men hit in his arm raises it, dripping blood and fires a single shot before Red shoots him between the eyes. The bullet grazes Sam's shoulder but he hardly feels it as he empties his current clip into the small group taking them all out with head and heart shots.

The three escapees rush to the now unguarded door. As they walk through another group of soldiers bursts through the door behind them. Without so much as a backwards glance, Sam unpins a grenade and throws it over his shoulder into the group, effectively neutralizing the threat then casually replaces the empty clip in his M16.

Red smiles beside him but before he can utter a word they run headlong into a group of enemy soldiers. Sam grabs the still bloody knife from earlier and goes after the closest one with a vengeance.

Shift grabs another and slams him to the ground with enough force to crack the man's head open. As he stands, he watches Red duck to avoid a punch but his injuries slow his reaction time and the fist clips him, knocking him off balance. Before the soldier can exploit the opening, Shift tackles him to the ground.

The two men roll around on the ground for a moment before Shift shoves a knife between the man's ribs. Shift pushes the body off of him and stands only to be thrown into a wall head first.

Red pulls a man off of Shift and shoots him in the head before he has a chance to react.

Sam quickly dispatches of the two men remaining and moves to kneel down by Shift. "Shift buddy, you with us?" Sam asks tentatively. A groan from Shift answers him as his eyes flutter open.

Sam grabs his face and looks into his eyes before cursing and saying, "Looks like you got yourself a pretty bad concussion Shift. How many fingers am I holding up?" Sam asks, holding up three.

Shift brings a hand to his head and moans, "Which one of you?" Shift meant it as a joke but Sam frowns, not liking the prospect that Shift is seeing multiples, it would adversely affect his aim and it would be hard for him to defend himself.

Sam turns to Red and stands. As he moves closer to the man, he can feel the heat radiating from him and guesses that he is developing an infection. Sam's frown deepens at the prospect.

Just as Sam is about to say something he hears the sound of boots running down the hall. From the sound they are making, Sam estimates it to be a rather large group.

Red helps Shift up off the floor and the three men take a fighting stance, guns at the ready.


	17. Chapter 17

The first soldier rounds the corner and Sam quickly lobs a grenade behind him. When it goes off, the three soldiers here several screams but know they only took out a small portion of the force that has come to meet them.

As enemy soldiers finally come into view Sam takes out the first three with precision head shots and watches as Red and Shift empty their guns into the torsos of the next five.

Sam turns and nods to his two comrades and they rush forward into the fray. Sam pulls the Beretta strapped to his left leg and continues firing, each bullet taking down another combatant. When he empties the clip he quickly unloads it and throws it into the back of the head of a man attempting to get behind Red. The momentary distraction was all Red needed to snap his neck and as the man falls, Red gives a weak nod to his friend.

Sam slams the butt of his gun into an attackers head then thrusts his knife into the man's midsection before pulling up and out. Sam pushes the body off of him before reloading and continuing his onslaught.

Sam glances around and sees Shift struggling with a man twice his size and promptly shoots the man between the eyes.

Sam's leg suddenly gives as he feels the burning pain of a bullet enter the fleshy area of his thigh. Sam quickly finds the shooter and dispatches his with a double tap to the chest. Sam slowly pushes himself up, using the wall to support his weight. As he finally stands up straight he fires off two consecutive rounds into the heads of two men closing in on him.

Sam throws his last grenade into the mix and watches as it takes out half of the remaining men.

He turns to Red and Shift and sees them both beginning to fade. Sam knows if they don't get out now, then they won't get out ever. So Sam makes a decision and yells over to his friends, "Red, Shift, I need you guys to go that way," Sam jerks his head to indicate an empty hallway behind him and to the left. "Take the first right, the third left and then right again and get one of those jeeps running. I'll run rear guard and take care of these guys."

Shift opens his mouth to protest leaving him but Sam glares menacingly and Shift just nods and drags Red away with him.

Sam emptied the Beretta to lay down cover fire and cursed when he felt it knocked out of his hand by an enemy bullet. Sam almost had to laugh at their horrible aim as that shot had clearly been meant for him, but he realized that he had the advantage. He was a sniper, aim was kinda his thing, always had been and now, in this new unit his skills had improved.

Sam swung an M16 in front of him and let out a barrage of well-aimed bullets, most hitting their intended target in the chest and a few headshots. Sam slowly backed down the hallway he had indicated to his comrades. He shot every time he saw a person's head and left a trail of bodies in his wake.

Just as he was about to turn the final corner he felt someone come up behind him. He whirled and was suddenly face to face with the man he hated most in the world, the man who had run their torture sessions and smiled at their screams of pain.

Without a second thought Sam put a bullet between his eyes. Then Sam turned and brought his knife down in the neck of the dead man's body guard before ruthlessly ripping it across the exposed area. Sam had recognized him as the man who had taken a particular liking to the whip that had almost put them all out of commission, the man who was responsible for the state his friends were currently in. Sam paused a moment to collect himself before pressing on with a slight limp to join his friends at the jeep they had ready and waiting.

As Sam climbed in he noticed Red had passed out in the passenger seat, most likely from blood loss. Sam cast a glance over to Shift and they both knew that if they didn't find a friendly base soon, they would lose another friend and he knew neither of them could handle that at the moment.

Shift quickly pulled out and Sam leaned over the back seat to search the trunk for anything that could be used as first aid supplies. He found several shirts and began tearing them in strips and tied one around the bullet wound in his thigh, he sighed upon finding it was a through-and-through and he wouldn't have to dig out the bullet. It would work temporarily but he needed to focus on Red before he dealt with his own wounds and Shift as well. Sam could see the man slowly fading behind the wheel of the jeep and prayed that he could last until Sam had finished patching up Red at the very least.

Just as he moved to start on Red a bullet imbedded itself in his arm and he turned to see a single jeep racing after them. Sam quickly stood in the moving vehicle and took aim. Bullets pinged off of the metal exterior of their jeep and Sam ignored them and focused on breathing. He could make the shot much easier with a sniper rifle but he was working with what he had. He shot a few rounds off, causing the men in the enemy jeep to duck and Sam took his chance, aiming first at the gas tank, then at the engine block. Sam watched in satisfaction as the vehicle caught fire and then exploded with a resounding boom.

Sam turned and sat down to see Red staring at him in awe. The gunfire must have woken him Sam thought.

Red blinked several times before finally saying, "Holy crap man, you're like our own Rambo." Sam smiled before looking at his arm in thinly veiled disgust; it was going to hurt like hell to dig that bullet out.


	18. Chapter 18

Sam watched as Shift began slumping at the wheel, it was growing dark and with a severe concussion, Shift wasn't going to last much longer.

Sam grit his teeth and made use of the last light of the day to bandage the bullet wound he had just spent a significant amount of time removing the bullet from. He knew he wasn't in much better shape than the fading wheelman, but he was most certainly better off than the unconscious tech expert in the passenger seat. Sam knew that even in his state, half dead from torture, dehydration, starvation, heat, and sporting a few bullet holes, he had a job to do as the most able bodied member of their unit currently available. He had to get his fellow soldiers to safety, even if it cost him his life.

Sam looked at the two men in front of him in surprise, men he would willingly give his life for. He hadn't felt so strongly about any of his other Army units; he had only felt that way about the good men and women of the SRU.

Sam held back a sigh as he thought of them, they were like his family, only much better than his actual one. Although Sam had to admit, this particular incident may change at least the relationship he had with his father, the General would certainly be impressed when he directed them to the hidden enemy base and the mess he had left there. But the SRU was his true family and Sam felt himself wishing to see them again. He knew they would be angry with him for leaving, but he would give anything to see Spike's smiling face, Ed and Greg's shiny bald heads, to feel Wordy's strong fatherly presence, and to hold Jules in his arms. He even found himself wanting to see Leah even though he hadn't really had the time to get to know her before he left.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by the jeep's sudden stop. Sam looked up to see Shift slumped against the steering wheel, desperately trying to keep from passing out. Sam quickly jumped over the side of the vehicle and pulled his out of the front seat and gently maneuvered him to the back seat before getting in the driver's seat and continuing on.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

The sun was bright overhead, causing Sam to squint out the blinding light. He brought a hand up the shield his eyes from the glare to look down at the jeep's gas gauge, which had been stuck firmly on E for some time now. They had gotten a ways literally driving on fumes, but it seemed that wasn't going to work anymore.

The jeep rolled to a stop and Sam let out a muttered string of curses that was beyond impressive. He turned to the only other semi-coherent person in the vicinity and said, "Looks like were walking the rest of the way."

Shift's face contorted in a comical grimace as he let out an exaggerated groan, "I hate walking."

Sam smiled at the older man and jumped down from the vehicle and moved over to the passenger side. "Shift, grab what supplies you can from the back. I'll grab Red and we can get a move on."

Shift quickly complied, grabbing a half-filled pack and stuffing it with what little else he could find in the jeep, including Sam's makeshift medical supplies.

Sam hooked one arm around Red's legs and lifted him up into a fireman's carry over his shoulders, being extremely careful of the man's injured back. Sam grimaced as he felt the heat coming off his usually lively, but now unnervingly silent friend. He knew if they didn't find an outpost soon, Red would die of the infection that was attacking his system.

Sam turned to Shift and with a silent nod, they set off.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Shift had fallen into a stumbling walk by the time they could make out the distant compound. If they were lucky, it would be friendlies, if they were really lucky, they would run into a patrol with food, water, and transportation.

It took another five minutes before Sam realized that they had hit the jackpot as a patrol rolled up on them in a jeep with one man wearing the signature red cross of a medic on his helmet.

The medic quickly took Red from him, with the help of another soldier. As soon as Sam saw that both his comrades were being treated he turned to the highest ranking officer and said, "Master Corporal Samuel Braddock, N85-63-8936." The man's face paled slightly at the name Braddock and Sam bit back a smirk at his father's reputation.

A Second passed and the officer's face slid into an easy smile, "Glad you're alright Master Corporal, soon as word got round bout you boy's bein missin, the General near sent out the entire Army lookin for youse. Seems there weren't no need, seein as you done got yerself here of yer own accord." Sam smiled at the southern drawl as the man spoke. He offered his hand, which Sam shook firmly, "Lieutenant Buck Hartford, but the boy's just call me Bucky. Let's get you and yer buddies to base, patched up and debriefed, then maybe we can get you boys back to those families of yers."

Sam smiled and followed the Lieutenant to the jeep. It wasn't long before, the three soldiers were being pulled out of the vehicle and into the infirmary.

Sam barely registered the commotion but he could imagine the stir they were causing, dressed in torn and bloodied fatigues and he knew that word travelled fast in a place like this and they probably all knew who he was.

When they finally made it into the infirmary Sam was very unsurprised to see Ratchet, Bear, Jet and Rocky standing there waiting for them. He was surprised however, by the fifth figure with them, his father.

Sam was silent for a moment as he carefully watched doctors seeing to Red and Shift who were both unconscious at this point. After deciding that his comrades were safe, he turned to Ratchet and his father.

He rattled off an approximate coordinate position of the enemy compound, "You should pass an abandoned jeep three hours' drive in."

Ratchet turned to the General with a smile, "While these guys are getting fixed up, I say we go over a little strategy."

Sam chuckled slightly and Everyone eyed him curiously. "No need to go in guns blazing, I don't think I left anyone there breathing and if any got away I doubt they would be back after that." Sam looked over their faces, most shocked, although Rocky looked down right bursting with pride of the man he considered a younger brother.

Sam almost froze when he saw the same emotion mirrored in his father's eyes. Sam wondered if that was the first time he had ever seen that expression on his father's face as he felt himself slipping. He sat down on the empty cot next to him and saw the faces morph into looks of concern.

He heard someone call a doctor over and he felt himself slump over as the darkness consumed him and he felt safe knowing he was with people he could trust to watch over him.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x


	19. Chapter 19

Rocky looked down at the sleeping soldier in the hospital bed. He couldn't believe how strong the young man was, and how much he had gotten through.

It was a week since Sam had showed up carrying Red on his back with Shift at his side. Rocky smiled as he thought about what the three men had left behind. He had gone with Jet, Bear, Ratchet and the General to see the enemy camp the men had escaped from.

Flashback

The Humvee stopped as it neared a burnt out shell of a vehicle, it was almost torn in two.

They could see the building and decided to go the rest of the way on foot. When they reached the building, Rocky smelt the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and wondered how many bodies there had to be for the smell to be so strong.

The group slipped in a side door with Ratchet in the lead. They made their way down the hallway, occasionally stepping over or around bodies. Rocky noted silently, almost every one was killed with a perfect headshot. Rocky smiled and thought, the kid sure knew how to aim.

They rounded a corner and were met with a battle zone. Pieces of walls were missing from grenade blasts and broken bodies littered the floor, some even looked to have been killed by hand.

They searched the compound for several hours, finding only bodies, before they stumbled upon a small security room. They set about searching the tapes, there weren't many as the building only seemed to have three or four cameras, but what they saw was amazing and terrifying all at once.

The screens flitted from images of horrid torture, to ones of a harrowing escape that left all those that rose against it in the dust. They watched Sam, Shift and Red fought their way from their prison. Sam seemed to know exactly where to go, and even with two fading comrades he managed to stay on top of the enemies' advances, crushing them into nothing.

Rocky turned to gauge the other's expressions. Jet's face held a look of awe and admiration as he watched Sam cleanly snap his opponent's neck before turning and bringing another down with hand-to-hand combat moves that were almost too fast to see. Bear's eyes shone with anger and indignation as the screen he watched alternated between torture sessions of four different men, one of whom had long since died. Ratchet stared solemnly at all the screens he could, taking in all that his men had gone through.

Finally, Rocky's eyes fell upon the face of General Braddock. The older man's eyes were sad as he watched the escape unfold before his eyes, obviously regretting what his insistence for his son to rejoin the Army had brought about, what it had turned the young man into. R

atchet knew because he looked at the screens in the same way. He knew that Sam was strong, but he had killed more men by hand in a single day than he had before, the number even rivaled that of his career as a sniper for JTF2.

They had counted and the total had reached sixty-eight, and that wasn't including the wreck they had run into, there was no way to identify how many bodies were in that thing. Rocky sighed knowing that Sam's recovery would be much more than just physical.

End Flashback

Rocky watched as Sam slept, they had all been taking turns watching the three men, waiting for them to wake up. Shift had been up for two days now and had even wanted to be put on rotation to watch over his friends. Red and Sam had yet to wake up though. Red, because the severity of his wounds had had required him to be put in a medically induce coma for a short period to speed the healing process, and Sam due to a mixture of injuries and total exhaustion. The younger man had given everything he could to get his fellow soldiers to safety and almost lost his life in the process.

As Rocky was thinking, he saw Sam's eyes snap open. Rocky stepped forward slowly so as to not startle the man. The movement caught Sam's eye and his head snapped around to see who it was. Rocky inwardly winced, knowing the action must have aggravated his back injuries and slight concussion.

"Rock…" Sam rasped out, his voice hoarse from being unused so long. Rocky handed him a cup of ice chips, "Hey Sammy. You've been out almost a week. Me and Jet were about to start looking for a Prince Charming for you, Sleeping Beauty." Sam chuckled, "I hardly think I look like a princess right now, if anything, I could pass off as the Beast." Rocky smiled, so Sam hadn't lost his golden sense of humor.

"Shift is up and about; you can go see him when you are feeling up to it. Red is doing good too, he's healing up well, they should wake him up in a couple of days." Sam's eyes brightened at the mention of his friends, he was glad they were doing well.

"I also thought I should let you know, the General is here. He was in here a few hours ago, but Ratchet sent him off to eat and get some rest." Sam's eyes began to droop as he took in the information. Rocky sat back down as his friend went back to sleep.

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam woke up several hours later when the door to his hospital room opened. He was almost surprised to see his father walking in. "Sir." General Braddock's face seemed to fall at the address, which confused Sam as it was the only thing his father had allowed them to call him from the time he turned five.

"How are you doing Sam?" Sam did his best to hide his surprise at the question.

"Fine Sir." Sam realized his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him as his father's eyes connected with his and he saw the sadness in them.

"Sam, son, I know I haven't been the best father to you but I wanted to let you know I'm proud of you. I went to the compound where you were held, I saw the security videos. What you did was amazing, I'm proud to have you as my son."

Sam was stunned, before he could say anything his father had already turned to leave. He stopped at the door, "When you are feeling up to it, I want you to talk to someone about what happened. Once they clear you, I'll see what I can do about getting that job of yours at the SRU back. From what heard, they never really filled your position." Then the man was gone, leaving Sam with his thoughts. He could go back to the SRU, if he had to deal with a shrink to get there, he could certainly handle that.


	20. Chapter 20

Sam smiled into his beer; it felt good to be home.

He was sitting in a bar waiting to meet up with Deputy Chief Holleran. His father had set up the promised meeting after his first and only visit with the psychologist he had been sent to. He had been convincingly mentally stable.

Sam almost chuckled at how easy it had been to fool the man. He knew he wasn't anywhere near alright, his own diagnoses pointed to PTSD. The nightmares were steadily getting worse, he gave new meaning to the words, hyper vigilant and trust issues. He felt jumpy around people and hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a month. He could tell it was getting worse and he desperately hoped it didn't graduate to flashbacks; he could handle the nightmares as long as he didn't have to face them in the light of day.

His thoughts were interrupted when Holleran pulled a chair up next to him. "Sam Braddock didn't think it would take this long to see you again." S

am tried to not roll his eyes, "I would have been back months ago but I was a bit held up."

Holleran frowned at his cryptic remark, "I'm glad your back though Braddock, Team one hasn't been the same without you, and turns out, we got a spot opening up. Leah is taking a leave of absence to deal with family issues, we need a six man team and maybe when Leah gets back we can have a full roster. Speaking of which, there's someone I wanted you to talk with."

Sam frowned slightly; he hadn't wanted the team alerted to his return, he wanted for it to be a surprise. Holleran looked past him slightly and Sam turned to see Leah. Holleran stood and left with a nod, leaving Leah to take his seat.

"You know, I thought I was going to yell at you for leaving like that and making me pick up the pieces of a devastated team, but from what I see, you went through more than enough hell." Leah gestured to the last of the bandages poking out from beneath his clothes; he was more than ready to be done with them which he hopefully would be by tomorrow. Leah continued on, "The team went through a rough time after you left, Jules and Spike more than the others. It took a while but I got that back up to top shape, I swear if I come back and find out you have undone all my hard work, whatever you went through over there is going to look like a Sunday picnic."

Sam smiled, not doubting she meant every word, "I plan on staying this time. I have a whole hell of a lot to get through and I want my family at the SRU with me through it. I wish you could be there as well; I would like to actually get to know you, know the woman that kept my family together when I went off the reservation. Thank you for doing that, I know I didn't make it easy on you, I'm sure it must have been a hell of a rookie year."

Leah laughed, throwing her head back, "You have no idea, but I think it got me out of rookie hazing so it wasn't too bad."

It was Sam's turn to laugh, even if it sounded empty, "We'll just have to fix that when you get back."

x.X. Flashpoint .X.x

Sam stood outside the SRU building. Everyone on Team one was already in the building. He stands there staring at the building, trying to find the courage to walk in.

"The building won't get any closer if you stand there staring it to death." Sam turned to see Donna walking towards him. "Heard Team one was getting someone with experience, should have known it would be you. It's about time you got back here."

Sam hid a grimace at her sharp tone, "Would have been here sooner if I could have." Sam sticks with the mysterious remark and watches Donna's eyes sharpen with concern and subtly look him over, searching for hidden injuries.

"Well, you're here now, that's all that matters. The team has missed you, they will be more than happy to have you back; you don't have to stand out here wondering how they are going to react. You'll be welcomed back like the prodigal son, with mother henning from everyone and endless jokes courtesy of Spike. Now stop moping around and get in there."

Donna gave Sam a small but firm push forward, Sam fought back the instinct to break her hand and instead offered his thanks, "Thank you Donna, I know we were never the best of friends and I'm sorry for that." Sam turned to leave and only made it a few steps before pausing and turning back around, "Oh and Donna, this conversation…"

Donna smirked and smoothly interrupted him, "Never happened." She gave a quick wave of her hand in the direction of the door and with a laugh Sam turned and walked into the SRU.


End file.
